As the most vulnerable members of our societies, environmental destruction impacts children first and foremost. Children are also those who are most likely to endure the impacts of a polluted environment over the longest period. Climate change is already killing one thousand children every day. The importance of educating children about the environment was addressed at theRio+ conference. There are some basic sustainability issues that must be addressed. Things like clean water and clean air are basic concerns that are fundamentally important to many children all around the world.

In the world today there are 2.6 billion people are without access to basic sanitation; 67 million children of primary school age are out of school. A lack water and sanitation services which is a leading cause of mortality for both children and their mothers. Indoor air pollution from particulate matter is responsible for 900,000 deaths in children under the age of five.

An environmental education is important to children because they will be called upon to solve unimaginable challenges in their lifetime. They will desperately need the knowledge and tools necessary for survival in the 21st Century. (more)

Beijing will create an environmental police force aimed at tackling deadly smog, after the Chinese capital spent the first week of 2017 mostly shrouded in a thick haze of pollution.

The new law enforcement outfit will patrol the streets, eyes peeled for open-air barbecues, trash burning and dusty roads that violate regulations, the city’s acting mayor Cai Qi said at the weekend.

Beijing will also shut its last coal-fired power plant and reduce coal consumption by 30% this year, Cai said according to state media. Officials will shut 500 factories and 300,000 older vehicles will be taken off the road.

“There is still a long way to go to meet the expectation of the public,” he added, admitting he wakes up every morning and checks the air quality, along with the weather report.

The capital is frequently beset with toxic smog and levels of harmful air pollution in 2015 were more than eight times those recommended by the World Health Organization.

China declared a “war on pollution” in 2014, but has struggled to deliver the sweeping change many had hoped to see and government inspections routinely find pollutions flouting the law.

Last week, inspection teams from the environment ministry found some companies resuming operations despite a government ban, known as a “red alert”, aimed at curbing smog. More than 500 construction sites and businesses and 10,000 vehicles violated measures to reduce air pollution.

But Beijing’s new police squad may do little to help residents breathe easy.

Scotland has just proposed a draft climate change plan to cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 66% by 2032, setting one of the world’s most ambitious reduction plans to tackle climate change.

The ambitious goal follows the target of reducing GHG emissions by 42% by 2020 compared to 1990, a target already met in 2014. Scotland also has a long-term target of cutting GHG by 80% by 2050.

“We are proud of the progress made by Scotland, one of the most ambitious members of the States & Regions Alliance,” says Libby Ferguson, States & Regions Director, The Climate Group. “The Scottish government has shown how climate leadership can improve both business prosperity and citizens’ wellbeing.

The report marks the first step in bridging the gap between the way companies consider sustainability issues in their risk management processes, and the way they disclose these risks to investors.

For example, in one of the report surveys:

89% of companies indicate that sustainability issues could have a financial impact on their business. Yet, 70% don’t believe their risk management practices are adequately addressing those risks. Further, only 29% of the companies who outline material sustainability risks in sustainability reporting reflect the same information in their legal filings or disclosures.

Researchers at Washington State University have discovered a new type of cooperative photosynthesis that could be used in engineering microbial communities for waste treatment and bioenergy production.

EcoVadis hosted an insightful Panel discussion at Le Bourget in Paris last Friday, December 4, for Day 5 of COP21 with close to 200 attendees. In case you weren't able to make it to Paris, here's a summary of the insights and discussion from this excellent panel procurement and sustainability leaders...

The private sector is largely absent from the negotiations despite the fact that it is responsible for the majority of both GDP and emissions. Here are four reasons to pay attention to the private sector at COP21.

IDB, Inter-American Development Bank Group, a sponsor of the Sustainable Innovation Forum, presents 4 reasons why the private sector should be included in the COP21 discussions. Check them out! The Sustainable Innovation Forum brings business, government and NGOs together to combat climate change. Check out the website: www.cop21paris.org

Suppose you could replace "Made in China" with "Made in my garage." Suppose also that every time you polished off a jug of two percent, you would be stocking up on raw material to make anything from a cell phone case and golf tees to a toy castle...

In an amazing sustainability quadruple play, researchers at the University of Colorado Denver are working on a fuel cell that can desalinate water, treat wastewater and generate electricity in a single process, while producing hydrogen gas that is re-used to make the treatment process run efficiently. What’s amazing about it is that the operation is run by microscopic living organisms that exist all around us and even inside of us, otherwise known as microbes – yes, microbes

The Colorado researchers have stepped up the microbial fuel cell – wastewater connection to include a desalination capability, and that’s where it gets interesting. They were stumped for a while on how to get the whole operation to run efficiently, until they investigated the potential for storing the hydrogen waste gas from the process. Building on research conducted at Penn State University, the team produced a study demonstrating that the process results in enough hydrogen to run the desalination component. Not only that, it creates excess hydrogen that can be put to other uses.

The U.S. Navy and Microbial Fuel Cells

The Office of Naval Research is behind the Colorado study, which should come as no surprise. For obvious reasons, the U.S. Navy has a long term interest in developing high efficiency desalination processes, and now it foresees a future in which entire ships are powered by microbial fuel cells which can scavenge energy on-the-go from seawater. Bio-based fuel cells and batteries are also of great interest to other branches of the armed services, so it’s a safe bet that microbial fuel cells will cross over into mainstream civilian use…especially if the incoming Congress continues funding for new energy research.

As climate mitigation strategies focus on Co2 emission reductions, much needed support for the lungs of our planet arrives as Norway pledges $400 million for rainforests with the assistance of the private sector. As the Green Climate Fund is being rounded out amongst members of the PCA, this particular funding focuses on small scale farmers and strives to find a balance between supporting future food security and preserving irreplaceable ecosystems.

he world’s airline industry adds to climate change. It burns the equivalent of more than 5m barrels of oil a day, adding up to around 2.5% of all carbon dioxide pollution, in addition to nitrogen oxides, soot and water vapour, which place an even bigger burden on the world’s climate.

Aircraft are gradually becoming more fuel efficient, but that’s not happening fast enough to keep up with the huge boom in flying – since the 1970s, global air traffic has doubled in size roughly every 15 years. Flying is still cheap and budget airlines make it even more attractive, partly thanks to an international agreement reached in 1944 that prohibits tax on aviation fuel for international flights.

Last Tuesday, the UN’s climate talks have opened in Marrakech, with representatives from 196 countries focusing on the implementation of the Paris Agreement, under the stewardship of the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Salaheddine Mezouar

Frank Rijsberman, CEO of CGIAR, explains how farmers can thrive in the face of climate change. He showcases CGIAR projects that help farmers cope with climate change, including a CCAFS-led project on weather-based index insurance.

Our society needs a new story to belong to. The old story of empire and dominion over the earth has to be looked at in the full light of day - all of our ambient cultural stories and values that we take for granted and which remain invisible must become visible.

But most of all, we need to see the promise of the alternatives - we need to be able to imagine new exciting ways that people could live, better than anything that the old paradigm could ever dream of providing.

Billboards and commercial messages dominate the public space like never before. Can we reverse this visual pollution? This Space Available looks at diverse activists from the worlds of advertising, street art, and politics. http://thisspaceavailablefilm.com/

These days, any designer worth his or her salt is grappling with ideas of waste and sustainability, trying to come up with ways to do more with less. This is especially pressing in the realm of product packaging: According to the EPA, Americans alone throw away some 70 million tons of boxes, bags, containers, and inserts each year. It’s a staggering statistic, and any place where we can cut back will help stem the tide. But Aaron Mickelsonhas a more radical idea. Why not get rid of packaging completely?

That lofty ambition served as the basis for Mickelson’s thesis project at Pratt Institute last semester, where the designer earned his masters in package design. The project, which Mickelson dubs "The Disappearing Package," shows zero-waste solutions for five different products, from trash bags to shower soap. And the craziest part of it all is that the designs really aren’t that crazy.

Most of the solutions stem from streamlining the packages of products that are, in some way, packages themselves--or are products that already include many individually packaged parts. Tide Pods, for example, are single-use detergent pouches typically sold in a plastic jug or stand-up bag. Mickelson’s proposal is a simple one: Arrange the pods in a single, perforated sheet; print on them directly with soap-soluble ink; and roll them up into a tight cylinder for grocery store shelves. At home, customers would simply tear off one pod at a time, as needed, until the last one was used, taking the last traces of the product to the washing machine along with it. Mickelson’s idea for tea bags is similarly elegant--instead of putting all the individual, wax-sealed packets in a tin or cardboard box, simply attach them together accordion-style and let the customer tear off one at a time.

The designer’s proposal for Glad trash bags seems even more feasible--and perhaps even a bit more clever. The idea is to roll up the bags into a self-contained tube, with the product information printed directly on the outside bag. But the best part is that customers draw bags not from the outside of the roll but from the inside, Kleenex-style, which dispenses one bag at a time while keeping the rest in one tidy unit. Not only does the design eliminate the need for the superfluous cardboard box but it also adds a bit of quick-grab usability as well. Reducing waste is worthwhile enough; the added utility is just a victory lap.

Very interesting reading this. It seems quite true since the past winter didn't seem as cold as most winters here in Rhode Island. If the big cities cause the winter to be less cool then in the future, would winter even be cold? Lets hope and say this problem will never happen.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.